


More Courage Than

by Estirose



Category: Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-28
Updated: 2013-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-16 10:05:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/860893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Rangers find a young woman with extraordinary powers, while Marie Brown tries to figure out this superhero thing.</p>
<p>Written for Suechallenge on Livejournal, years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Courage Than

**Author's Note:**

> Suechallenge was a challenge to write a Mary Sue in your fandom of choice. I ended up with Marie Brown, questionable Mary Sue. Marie's now shown up in a scary amount of fics, including "Buying Shirts" (and by extension "And The Stars Their Brilliance Hide", "One Step After Another", and "Doing It For You").

She wandered in to the shop nervously, looking around. One of the local guys online, Cam, had recommended this place as a good start for the stuff she needed to go surfing. Not that she hadn't done her own reading up - after all, aspiring librarian and such - but even she knew that sometimes books and online resources didn't tell you everything. Sometimes you needed to ask. 

And ask she would do, no matter how much she was scared about it. She'd moved out to Blue Bay Harbor a year or so ago to work in a local office of her agency, and she had to admit that the waves called to her. She liked the water, liked the ocean, and surfing was something she felt that she could do, if she overcame her fear. 

And who would have guessed that the mousy bureaucrat who spent most of her time with her eyes on a computer screen would have the courage to try to surf? If nothing else, she'd awe her co-workers with her stories, whatever those stories might be. She just hoped they didn't involve nearly drowning in twenty-foot waves. 

She ordered herself to stop it. That wouldn't help anything, not the least trying out a new sport. She needed something to break her out of her routine, and surfing was it. 

"Hey, can I help you?" a male voice asked cheerfully. She spotted a young guy, barely out of his teens if that. She brushed her hair back behind her shoulders. Okay, the part that wasn't meticulously tied up in a mini-ponytail that extended from over her ears to the back of her head. 

"Um. Surfing." She paused to gather herself. "Um. Looking for surfing gear. Sorry." 

"Hey, no problem." He was wearing a yellow-and-white shirt over a tank top, she noticed. She was trying to pay more attention to details like that. Tan cargo pants, too. "Right over here. You a surfer? I've got a friend that surfs...." 

"New surfer... I'm taking lessons, but...." 

He grinned. "Surfing's fun. Not my thing, but fun. At least, my friend Tori says so." 

"Oh?" she asked. "Cool." She stuck her hand out. "Marie." Mousy, common name to go with the mousy personality, she berated herself. She should think of something cool to name herself. 

"Dustin," he said. He looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Blake! Got a surfer here!" 

Marie looked at the cute asian guy, and chastised herself again. She was not going to go for guys nearly half her age. "Sure," the guy said. "Hey, what'cha need help with?" 

"Well, I'm taking surfing lessons, and I've got my wetsuit, but I need a good board," she said, eyeing the boards on the wall. "Internet research is good and all, but I like to hear face-to-face opinions too, ya'know?" 

"Man, you should have come in when Tori was here, half an hour ago," Blake said, shaking his head. "She'd not only tell you the best board here, but have you surfing in half an hour!" 

Marie grinned. "I get that. Not a surfer, then?" Marie asked lightly. She'd have to ask for a better place. But no, she had to give this place a chance. 

"Nah. Motorcross is more my thing," Blake told her. "But hey, Tori's told me some of her faves. Why don't I show you them?" 

"Cool," she said, still smiling. 

As Blake went into the pros and cons of the boards, regaling her with stories of his girlfriend, Tori's, surfing adventures, Marie cursed her bad luck, reminded herself that he was way too young for her, and that of course he'd have a girlfriend. 

Marie had just about selected a surfboard when she heard a boom outside. It sounded too loud to be a gunshot or a car misfire, so she peeked out the window despite her better judgment. 

There was a monster outside. A real monster. Her mind boggled; despite living in a monster-infested zone, she'd never seen one herself; the Power Rangers usually took care of such things, the civilian population didn't need to worry about anything but rebuilding. 

A tug on her arm focused her attention back to Blake. The salesguy probably wanted her away from the window. Sensible. "Hey, we're getting out of here via the back," he said, jerking an arm in that direction. She could see another employee turning the open sign to closed. "I think you should, too." 

"Oh," she said, "Good idea." Thank goodness the shop employees were so together, she apparently was too fascinated by strange things for her own good. 

Blake, Dustin, and the other employee filed out towards the back, and Marie followed them. She was sure the alley would be okay; these guys didn't seem too worried about things. 

Once they were outside, Marie watched Dustin lock the back door. There was a look exchanged between the three employees, and then Blake volunteered, "Hey, I'll get you to safety, these guys have some stuff to do before they get to the shelters." 

Marie briefly wondered what that might be, but decided not to inquire. Wasn't her business, after all. "Okay. Thanks." 

Blake was leading her away from the monster when the alleyway seemed to go "fwoom!" behind them. She involuntarily turned around to see the monster emerging from the wreckage cackling madly. 

She held her hands up, hoping talking would work. It probably wouldn't, but one never knew. "We don't mean you any harm, we just want to get out of here...." 

Fwoom. 

A light shot from her hands, and the monster was driven back before spectacularly exploding. She blinked, looking for the Power Rangers who must have blown it up. 

But none emerged. 

She looked back, and Blake was staring at her. She looked at him, feeling confused. "Okay, what in the heck just happened?" 

"That's a very good question," Blake said, looking at her appraisingly. "Never blown up anything before?" 

"Not to my knowledge, no." She looked at where the monster had once been. "I've heard people do amazing things under the influence of adrenaline, but this isn't one of them." 

She began shivering as her brain engaged. Had she done this before? It was the kind of thing one never forgot, even with someone with as poor memory as hers. Therefore, if she didn't recall doing it, she either hadn't or she'd blanked out the memory of doing so. Maybe it was a reaction to fighting the monster, and only activated in the presence of monsters? 

She hoped so. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she were the victim of a more human crime. That would be using a nuclear warhead to kill an anthill. 

As she was still staring and shivering at the cloud of mist (or was that monster particles? She wasn't sure) as two of the Rangers - the yellow and crimson ones - walked up to herself and Blake. "Are you all right?" Crimson asked, and Marie wondered why he sounded vaguely familiar. 

"I'm fine, thanks to my friend here," Blake said, looking at Crimson more than Yellow. "She, um, blew up the monster." 

"And before anybody asks," Marie added, "No, I don't blow monsters up on a regular basis." 

"I'm sure you don't," Crimson said. "Look, I'd like to take you to HQ, have you checked out." 

"Um." Marie thought briefly. But then again, this was the Rangers. They were good guys, they could tell her why she was suddenly blasting monsters left and right. "Sure. Um." She turned to Blake. "Hold that surfboard, will you?" 

"Right," Blake said, giving her a small smile. 

"And, um, I could do without the entirety of Blue Bay Harbor knowing I can blow up things, okay?" 

Blake held up his hands. "Hey, I'm okay with that. You just go with the Rangers, okay? I'll see you later." 

Marie smiled a bit at him. "Thanks." 

She waved at Blake and walked forward to join the Rangers. "So... do I have to wear a blindfold or something?" she asked. 

"Might not be a bad idea," Crimson admitted. He looked around his uniform. "Except I don't have one." 

Blake wordlessly handed him one. Crimson tied it securely, covering Marie's eyes. 

Marie tensed a bit as they seemed to fly into the air. As they 'flew' - or rather, her mind noted it as bouncing - she started to make notes. Okay, did she remember the Rangers bouncing about in air on televised footage? Had they ever flown unaided? 

When they finally seemed to reach solid ground, the Ranger who had carried Marie over let her go. "I'm going to talk to Sensei." 

"Right, Dude." 

Marie filed that away, also noting that the voice sounded somewhat familiar. She heard Crimson walk a ways away, but could only hear muttered conversation. "We're going to take your blindfold off, Marie," Crimson said. She felt someone untie the blindfold, which revealed the two Rangers, as well as what looked like some kind of Asian meditation place that had been hit by a war. She winced. 

"Follow us," Crimson said, and Marie followed. He and Yellow led her into a place... a cave with stairs. While she was gawking, he put his hand on some kind of flat plate. 

A door rumbled open, and Crimson ushered her inside. She looked around; inside was some kind of room, less like a basement and more like some kind of underground meditation center. A computer with a large screen dominated the far wall; a table sat in the middle of the room. One set of shelves, tucked into a corner, held books and scrolls. 

"Power down!" she heard from behind her as she stared at the furnishings. A young man came out of nowhere as she turned around to see who the Rangers were. She froze. 

The Rangers worked at an extreme sports store? 

Of course, Rangering probably didn't pay very well. They probably needed a job with a relaxed boss. "Um." 

"Like, hi," Dustin said, waving. 

The third person, the one that just joined them, she didn't recognize at all. Apparently not all of the Rangers worked there, or maybe this guy was tech support and wasn't a superhero, or something like that. 

"Hey, Cam, this is Marie," Dustin said, greeting the young Asian man that had appeared. The other store worker - crimson? She'd never gotten his name - was moving towards the very large computer workstation. "Marie, Cam." 

"Marie-?" Cam asked. 

"Uh. Marie Brown," she said, sticking out a hand. "I blew up a monster." She blushed. "I think it's okay to shake my hand, however." 

Cam ignored the hand, however. "Let's get you checked out, see if we can figure out why you're suddenly blowing up monsters." 

"Probably a good idea," Marie allowed. "It was very interesting, but I think I'll leave blowing up the monsters to the professionals." Never mind that the 'professionals' were just into adulthood. Marie could handle that if they could handle that. Maybe she'd have a chance to find out how they became Rangers. 

Cam led her over to an area near the computer console and proceeded to get out various and sundry things that Marie couldn't even begin to identify. Her speciality was finding out things on the computer, and the Internet probably didn't have a section on science-fiction medical equipment used by superheroes with a ninja theme. 

However, she also figured Cam knew what he was doing, so she let him hook her up to what had to be sensors. He turned to the console, rapidly typing something in. She didn't have a good enough angle or enough understanding of computer programming to figure out what he was doing. Besides, superhero tech support people tended to be near geniuses. No way was plain old Marie Brown going to get all that. Finding stuff, yes. Figuring out what a computer genius was inputting, no way. 

"So?" Crimson asked impatiently. 

"Hunter, this does take a little time," Cam said, still typing. 

At that moment, some kind of cart wheeled in. It must have been motorized, for there was nobody accompanying it. 

Inside was a hamster... no, a guinea pig? Marie wasn't good at those sorts of things. "Sensei," Hunter said courteously, "This is Marie. She's the one I told you about. 

The hamster suddenly bounced from the cart to the floor and then landed next to Marie. She could see it was wearing some kind of outfit. "Hello, Marie," the hamster said gently. 

Marie blinked. Twice. Or three times. Or four. 

"Um. Hi." She was starting to feel stupid. This was a superhero headquarters; why shouldn't they have amazing machines and intelligent rodents? 

"Sensei's Cam's father," Hunter continued to explain. "He had a little... accident when fighting Lothor." 

"I'd say," Marie managed. Obviously, she should have read more comic books when she was growing up. She did have a fair amount of comic books, bought more for their future value rather than their stories. Of course, even tomboys like her didn't read superhero comics when she was growing up. Pick up action-oriented toys, yes. She had possessed her fair share of Transformers and Gobots and GI-Joe and Star Wars action figures when she was a girl. They might have fit oddly with her stuffed animals, but it was infinitely more exciting to use them than dolls. 

"Hunter, get Marie something to eat, she needs it," Cam commanded. She watched Hunter jog off into an opening she didn't realize existed. 

"Something wrong?" she asked, trying to make her tone light. She didn't need to feel like she'd been injected into a superhero story that segued into an ER story. 

"I'm surprised you haven't fainted," Cam replied carefully. 

"Actually, I feel fine," Marie said. "Even with the adrenaline rush over." She wondered if something *was* wrong, and she just didn't feel it. "Something's really wrong, isn't it?" 

"Nothing that a better diet wouldn't solve," Cam said evenly. 

"Oh yeah. Right." She knew her diet wasn't the best, but it wasn't like she'd ever shot beams of light from her hands before, so maybe it was time to invest in a diet plan. It probably wouldn't hurt to lose a few pounds, either. 

She mentally shook her head. What was she thinking? It wasn't as if this was a full-time occupation, she had a full-time job and this wasn't something she was interested in doing anyway. 

Dustin had disappeared at some point, she noticed. Probably to go back to his job. 

As Cam continued to check her out, Hunter came back with some granola bars and an energy drink. Probably not on Cam's nutrition list, but she knew that they'd do some temporary good. She'd found that out last time she'd had food poisoning - Gatorade wasn't her top choice in drinks, but she'd take that over lack of electrolytes and getting sicker. 

She quietly accepted the food and drink, snacking on the granola bar and taking small sips of the drink. Even though she didn't feel faint, better safe than in a hospital bed. 

"So, did we miss much?" a cheerful voice came from the entrance. Blake, her mind corrected. Her salesperson was a Ranger? Wait- 

Cam. That Cam? *The* Cam that had told her about the place on that message board? 

Then she thought again. Nah, probably not. There was no way this guy would be that obvious. 

"Ookay," she said. "What's going on around here?" 

"You blasted a monster, you looked pale - sides, we didn't think you wanted to attract the attention of Lothor's goons," Blake said. "Least here, you're safe until we can figue out what was going on." 

"Good point," Marie conceded. "Though on the pale side? I don't see it." 

"Get a good look at yourself in the mirror," Blake said, "And you would." He paused. "By the way, this is Tori." He indicated the blond girl beside him. "And you met Hunter, my brother." 

"We're adopted," Hunter said in the tone of someone who's been asked a question far too many times. 

"And this is Shane," Tori said, indicating a young man beside her. 

Marie looked carefully at the colors. "Okay, Dustin is yellow, Hunter is Crimson or Red, Blake is Navy or Blue, Tori is Navy or Blue, and Shane is either Crimson or Red. Where's Green?" 

"Sitting beside you making sure you don't faint," Cam said evenly. 

"Erm." Marie blushed. "Sorry, Cam. I kind of assumed you were tech support. Yeah. You know the old saying. 'Assume makes an ass of you and me.'" 

Cam didn't comment, for which Marie was grateful. Now she saw him as someone in a black leather outfit with green stuff on it. Hadn't hit her before. 

"So, what happens now?" she asked curiously. It wasn't as if there was anything that she could do that they couldn't. They could blow up monsters just as well as she could, even better. 

"We figure out why a random civilian can suddenly disintegrate monsters," Cam said. 

Sensei peered at her. "Marie, is your family European, or do you have any Asian ancestors?" he asked. 

"Um. European mostly, but we haven't found everybody yet." The big problem was that one side of her family had an extremely common surname, and was being a pain in the neck to find. At least the other side of the family with an equally-common surname hadn't moved around much. 

"Then perhaps your family is one of the lines invested with the Symbols of Power." 

"Symbols of Power?" Marie echoed. Had she not been in a hidden headquarters of a team of superheroes, she would have asked Sensei if he hadn't had too much to drink today. Besides, it sounded disrespectful of somebody with such a title. 

"So, what are these Symbols of Power?" Shane asked. 

"Whatever they are, they're powerful enough to vaporize a monster," Blake said with confidence. 

"The legend is that five guardians of power - Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Wood - Chose a line of people to safeguard their power. Over the years, all the family lines died out," Cam said. "Marie must have an ancestor somewhere in the Fire line." 

"Which means?" Marie asked. "I have extra-special powers because one of my ancestors was blessed with special power?" 

"That's about it, yes," Cam said. "Somewhere long the way, one of your ancestors must have come from Japan." 

"Funny that nobody in my family seems to know about this 'Power'." Marie pointed out skeptically. 

"It was meant to assist warriors in defeating opponents of great evil," Sensei said. "Those that were not completely of the world. Your ancestors may not have realized that, and it passed down into legend." 

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about blasting a would-be purse snatcher by accident," Marie said with relief, and then added, "Well, at least if they're completely of the world." She doubted most criminals were. 

"Probably you don't have to worry about them, no," Cam said. "However, you are going to have to deal with Lothor. He's probably aware of what you did as much as we are." 

A chill went through Marie. She hadn't considered that, really. But of course the bad guys would want the powerful new weapon. "Maybe you can stop it from manifesting?" she asked hopefully. No power meant the bad guys wouldn't be interested in her. 

"Why'd you want that?" Hunter asked incredulously. "It seems like a power that most of us would die for, and you want to give it up?" 

"I'm not like you guys," Marie explained. "It's... you guys run towards danger. I run away from it. I'm not brave or anything, I could do it if I had to, but... I'm not a warrior. I take data and put it together in a nice pretty little package for my bosses. That's my job. This isn't. I'd foul things up so badly trying to be a superhero." 

"Hey, you were learning to surf," Blake said. "Tori can tell you how good a surfer *I* am. It takes a lot of courage to get out there. You're not as bad off as you think." 

"Yeah, but...." Marie pondered how to explain to these heroes who thought that everybody wanted to save the world. "Surfing's different. If I mess up, I only put myself in danger." 

"Not always," Tori said. "If you're not careful, you could hurt somebody else. It's a danger in surfing - hey, it's a danger in life. It's... you've got to accept it, that's all." 

"So, you're saying that I shouldn't be afraid to blast monsters because nothing in life is without risk?" Marie asked, surprised. 

"Well, what do you do for a living," Blake said, "I mean, besides put data together. What do you put data together for?" 

"Um." Marie thought how best to explain what she did. "Well, I deal with fraud, for the state government. I go on a computer, pull together data on possible miscreants, and present it to the people who pursue the fraud cases. I'm really good at it - best person in my department." 

"And what do you do if something you collect is wrong? What if these investigators go out on your say-so and the person's perfectly innocent?" Blake continued looking at her, as if trying to get his point across telepathically. 

"I'd be pissed off at myself," Marie said. "Luckily, that's why there's more than me working on things." Thank goodness. Though she was very, very rarely wrong, she still could remember every single one of the ones she'd goofed on. They were stuck in her memory. It was why she didn't want to make a mistake, not that these heroes would understand. Sure, she could only blow up monsters, but still, she didn't want to be that responsible. 

"But you work in fraud for a reason," Blake argued. "Think of why you're working there." 

"Because I was tired of hearing people being defrauded, people being hurt," she said, the same reason she'd given when she'd been interviewed for her current position. "I wanted to help people, and this place gave me an opportunity." That, and getting off the phones didn't hurt, but sometimes she still felt a bit guilty about leaving her call center for her much quieter current environment. 

"So, help people a new way here," Hunter said. He'd grown so quiet that she'd forgotten he was there. "We need you. And we can defend you if we need to. But you need to *work* with us. To save people. To *help* people." 

"Um." Marie was still resisting. Her, a superhero? No, she reminded herself, she was a living weapon. Not a superhero. But if it meant saving peoples' lives.... 

No. She couldn't do this. She couldn't *be* this. She couldn't be what they wanted her to be, no matter how well-intentioned they were. 

"Marie, please," Tori said, giving her a gentle smile. "I know you say you're not courageous... but you don't have to be. We'll be courageous for you." 

"Besides," Shane said, "We need you." 

Marie looked at his eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. All of them were courageous, all of them brave... and yet it was up to her to save peoples' lives. 

"Okay," she said, hoping she'd made the right choice. 

"You'll be fine," Tori said, smiling. 

"I call for pizza!" Blake exclaimed. "Um. If that's okay by Cam." 

Cam shot him a look. "I don't think it's going to kill her, but she still has to work on her diet." 

"Right," Blake said with a smile. "Don't worry, Marie, his bark is worse than his diets." 

Marie smiled a little. "Right. Good." Maybe the adrenaline was finally wearing off. 

* * * 

"Watch out, Marie!" 

Marie dodged out of the way as one of Lothor's footsoldiers - Kelzaks, she'd been told - attempted to grab her. It wasn't the first time that they'd tried, but thanks to some training, she was at least a bit competent about protecting herself. She could blow them up, but she'd rather save her energy for bigger things - like the monster that was currently harassing Hunter. 

She liked the Rangers. She wasn't keen on the fighting. It just, as she'd tried to point out to the Rangers, wasn't really her thing. "Thanks," she yelled. She ducked and dodged to get a clear shot at the monster. The sooner the monster got blown away, she didn't have to be insanely courageous again. 

Marie aimed her hands at the monster, focusing herself as Sensei had taught her. She staggered back as the energy streamed through her form and her hands, disintegrating the monster thoroughly. 

The Kelzaks soon followed, dispatched by the Rangers. 

After all the bad guys were gone, the Rangers demorphed and some of them high-fived each other. "So, Marie, want to come see the race on Saturday?" Blake asked. 

"Can't," Marie admitted. She liked the races, more than she thought she would, but some things were more important. "Have to go up to Sacramento. Civil Service test. Won't be fighting Lothor's monsters forever, after all." 

"Sounds like fun," Hunter commented, making a face. 

Marie shrugged. "Never is, but gotta think of the future, ya know?" 

"Hey, good luck Marie," Dustin said. "You'll do well." 

Smiling, Marie answered, "I know I will." 

* * * 

Marie had just gotten off the phone when she was called to the newest battle. She went there, since it was nearby - she suspected Lothor was trying to grab her again, but if it made it easy for her to make it to the fight, she didn't mind. 

She had her mind on other things, however. During the course of the fight, she'd nearly been grabbed by several Kelzaks. That wasn't very good, and she cursed herself for the distraction. Normally she was better at defending herself than she was. 

When the opportunity came, she blasted the monster. She wanted the combat to be *over*. She needed to discuss something with the Rangers, and it wasn't going to be pretty. 

"You okay, Marie?" Shane asked, starting the discussion Marie didn't want to have, but was going to have to have. 

"I'm fine... but I just got some big news," Marie said, unwilling to blurt the whole thing out at once. 

"Yeah?" Shane asked. "What's that?" He was clearly picking up her apprehension, perhaps because her face could be read like a book. 

"I, um, I accepted a position in Sacramento. I'm going to learn how to program in COBOL instead." She took a deep breath. "It's something that only happens every five years or so; I can't pass it up. I've always had an interest in programming, and this gets my foot in the door." 

All six Rangers looked stunned. "But what if Lothor comes after you?" Blake pointed out. 

"Yeah, dude, you're safe here," Dustin reminded her. 

"Lothor is going after Blue Bay Harbor first," Marie said. "I trust you guys to be here... to make sure he doesn't have a chance to go after the people in Sacramento. I'm sorry. I just... I can't... there are only ten people accepted into the program. I don't want to give it up, and I feel the people of Blue Bay Harbor are just as safe with you guys around." 

"Marie...." Hunter said, his voice dripping with disappointment. 

"Marie," Shane said, more gently than she thought possible. "Have you thought this through?" 

"I've been thinking this through ever since I became a living weapon, Shane," Marie answered, scuffing the dirt with her shoe. "I just... I don't fit in. I never will. You're superheroes. I'm just a person who can turn monsters into dust. I run away, you run towards. I can't be who you want me to be. I'm sorry." 

"You're sure?" Shane asked. 

"Yeah," she said, still looking down. "Thank you for being my courage. You gave me my heart... though probably not in a way you ever intended. I'll miss you all." 

It probably would have been, or at least felt, more from the heart if she could look up. But she felt that she couldn't. 

"Goodbye," she told the shocked Rangers, and walked away. 

She didn't look back.


End file.
